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Does my small business qualify for US government contracts?

When reading the newspaper on any given
day, the number of articles that I come across about the government
awarding multimillion dollar contracts to large businesses is
overwhelming. The question that runs through most of my clients’
minds is whether or not their businesses can qualify for government
contracts. The answer for the majority of small business owners is
yes.

The US government purchases
approximately $400 billion a year in goods and services from private
companies. If the US government determines that these contracts can
be fulfilled by a small business, these contracts are “set aside”
for registered small businesses.

To discover whether your small
business qualifies to be deemed a “Small Business” by the Small
Business Administration or “SBA”, it is typically determined by
the size of the business, or the annual receipts of the business for
the last three years. In addition, the SBA in usually looks for the
following qualifications:

Is a for
profit Corporation or Limited Liability Company;

Has a place of business located in
the US;

Operates primarily within the U.S.
or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through
payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor;

Is independently owned and
operated; and

Is not dominant in its field on a
national basis

If your business meets these
requirements, generally speaking, this allows your business to
register to qualify as a small business with the SBA, thereby
allowing you the opportunity to bid on and obtain government
contracts.

New Jersey and most states also allow
you to qualify to obtain government contracts as a small business
owner by meeting similar criteria.

The benefits of becoming a government
contractor are great, even though the process of completing all the
necessary forms to qualify to be registered as a small business with
the US government and your local state government can take time and
be complicated to a first-time government contractor. Therefore, I
can’t stress enough the importance of obtaining the assistance of
individuals experienced with government contracts, such as an
attorney knowledgeable in this area, to prevent you from being denied
as a government contractor. As someone who has qualified many
businesses to be qualified to be government contractors, feel free to
email me with your questions at David@weinsteinlawyer.com.

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